With the launch of LAJWH Expo, founder Alexander Amosu speaks to us about showcasing African craftsmanship alongside putting Lagos on the global luxury map.
Lagos has always thrived on vibrant energy and entrepreneurial drive, but this year it will also become home to Africa’s first dedicated luxury trade experience. The LAJWH Expo (Luxury, Art, Jewellery, Watches and Home), founded by global entrepreneur Alexander Amosu, marks a daring new chapter for Africa. This event will position the continent not only as a consumer of luxury but also as an active creator and driver of the industry.
Alexander Amosu, the founder of Lux Afrique, is no stranger to pioneering new initiatives. Within the Lux Afrique group, they offer concierge services, an e-commerce business, and curated events, including the Lux Afrique Polo event. Drawing an audience of more than 4,500 to the Polo event, he demonstrated that the demand for premium experiences is not only present but thriving. With LAJWH Expo, Lagos will host a Harrods-style immersive showcase for the first time. Featuring rare timepieces, fine jewellery, collectable homeware, luxury automobiles, and more, the expo brings global names and African talent under one roof.
The motivation behind LAJWH Expo is as strategic as it is cultural. Nigeria and South Africa are among the largest luxury spenders in Africa, with a growing class of high-net-worth individuals. Yet international luxury brands have often struggled to enter this market effectively, facing challenges with distribution and misconceptions about doing business in Nigeria.
In this exclusive interview, Alexander Amosu speaks about the LAJWH Expo directly bridging this gap. It offers international brands a curated entry point while creating space for local artisans and designers to share the spotlight. Amosu is making a powerful statement that the world can no longer ignore the continent’s place in the global luxury conversation.
Read also: Fatima Babakura is empowering African women through fragrance and fashion
What’s the vision behind the Lux Afrique Jewellery Watch & Home Expo?
The vision behind it is simple: Nigeria is a fast-growing market, and the people love luxury. I am creating a Harrods-like experience, where you can see the brands of your choice, speak to the owners and network with them. You could be a distributor or a consumer. We will also use the opportunity to bring more focus and attention to the Nigerian market when it comes to luxury.
Based on my experience and 20 years in the luxury sector, I have met brands interested in the Nigerian market. The first question they ask me is, “How do we enter the market and meet other distributors, retailers, professionals, entrepreneurs, and high-level individuals?” They want to learn how to explore the Nigerian market, who to meet and where to go. There’s a lot of scepticism and curiosity about the Nigerian market. I’ve always tried to connect people, but at some point, I thought — why not bring the brands together to exhibit over a two-day period? This way, Nigerians can explore the collections firsthand, meet the brands directly, and even buy from them. So we’re killing two birds with one stone.
You’ve had an inspiring journey as a global entrepreneur with over 20 years experience. Why was it important for you to invest into Africa through a project like this?
I was born in the UK to Nigerian parents, so Nigeria has always held my heart. My soul feels very vibrant when I’m here, and if there’s any country where I can bring and contribute to any brand, it would be Nigeria. I haven’t been back here for a very long time, and I felt it was an opportunity for me to reconnect and also bring something that could be more long-term.
Outside of that, if we look at statistics, there are two countries in Africa with the highest spending power for luxury: Nigeria and South Africa. Those were the two deciding factors. This is the first of its kind, and with my vision, I want it to become an annual event.
As a Nigerian, why was Lagos the natural choice for hosting Africa’s first luxury-focused Jewellery, Watch, and Home trade experience?
Lagos is the hub. This is where everything happens. If I was going to do anything in Africa, it would be an injustice if I didn’t start here. There was just a real connection for me to start here, more than anything.
Read also: Hennessy partners with Tems to launch the Leading Vibe Initiative in Lagos
We’re happy to have you here! You mentioned that Nigeria and South Africa have the spending power for luxury. Africa has long influenced global luxury, yet hasn’t always been recognised. How does this Expo shift the narrative — from Africa as a consumer market to Africa as a centre of luxury creation?
Over the past decade, I’ve watched ART X grow into something truly remarkable. An exhibition that celebrates the luxury and beauty of African art, drawing visitors from around the world. The same can be said of Lagos Fashion Week, which now attracts audiences from across the globe. I believe this expo will follow that path — becoming a key destination where people come to discover luxury brands and connect with others in the industry.
More importantly, for me, there’s an undertone of promoting African luxury. There are individuals in Nigeria who are pushing the boundaries when it comes to fashion, jewellery, accessories, and anything within the luxury lifestyle range. The expo aims to highlight this and showcase those brands as well. It’s a double-edged sword, but for it to work, we have to attract people with the popular international brands they already know. We utilise this as a powerful tool to highlight indigenous entrepreneurs in the luxury sector, bringing them to the forefront and using the platform to showcase and elevate them on a global stage. That’s the idea and focus.
That is a good entry point. Many people look for opportunities at events like this. How will this platform create opportunities — from jobs to networks — for people working in fashion, jewellery, watchmaking, and design?
If you examine what Polo Luxury, Alara, RJ4, and Temple Muse are doing — bringing international brands into the African market, selling them, and creating jobs — this event will contribute to that. There are young people thinking about how to get into watchmaking and the luxury space, as well as how to learn about fashion and jewellery making. However, there is a certain level of craftsmanship that luxury requires. For those people, there’ll be a lot of knowledge around that will encourage them to do more. There will be a conference where C-suite executives of brands will share why Africa is such a big market for them. They will also discuss the opportunities, challenges, and wider issues facing the luxury sector. This will provide us with deep insights into their business and how they have grown it over many years to build it into an international brand. People will be able to learn from them.
It’s great to hear that there’ll be learning opportunities beyond the glamour. What impact do you see LAJWH Expo having on Nigeria’s economy and Africa’s luxury industry?
With what the likes of Polo luxury are doing, signing brands that they can sell locally, I’m bringing additional brands that perhaps no one has signed. Some entrepreneurs and investors would look at those brands and are interested in opening up a retail store to sell locally for this brand. Many individuals will have the opportunity to partner, collaborate, network, and build with various brands at the expo, while also growing their businesses virtually.
Furthermore, for this event alone, we estimate that over 100 people will be flying in. They’ll be contributing to the economy by booking hotels, travel expenses — food and entertainment. My vision is to see at least 1,000 to 3,000 people fly in for the event annually. Just as many already travel for Detty December, fashion, and art, I want them to come for a luxury experience as well. This will impact the Nigerian economy positively and also elevate Africa’s luxury industry.
Read also: The growing business of fashion in Nigeria
Let’s get our audience buzzing. What makes LAJWH Expo different from other luxury showcases? What can guests expect to experience across the exhibitions and exclusive events?
The beauty of it is that it is a lifestyle event. We have Rolls-Royce coming in to showcase; tell us how to buy and customise a Rolls-Royce. They will show us the whole works; interiors, lighting, wheels, colour. Perfume brands from different parts of the world are coming in; it’ll be a sensory experience. We will also have jewellery from different brands showcasing the European quality of their products. Then we have watch brands: Backes & Strauss, Richard Mille and Franck Muller, with displays of time pieces. Attendees get a sense of a Harrods-like experience, as I mentioned earlier. For the first edition, we’ve concentrated on just about 10 to 12 brands. We’ll grow next year into something bigger.
We also have Access Bank showcasing, because with luxury, you need the right financial partner to facilitate those purchases. Additionally, we have workshops, and one of them will be handled by Bonhams Auction, an international auction house in London. They’ll be discussing African art — how to invest in it, the best pieces to consider, why it’s worth investing in, and the immense scale of the industry. This is an essential part because all over Europe, people are buying African art. We need to examine whether we are truly investing into our own arts or we are just importing and selling them, while somebody else is reaping the financial benefit.
We have Deborah Gispan of Panoba who will talk about education. Many Nigerians want to send their children to private schools abroad — Oxford, Cambridge, etc. We will learn the process, challenges and the best ways to navigate this migration. These are just some of the initiatives we’re bringing to the expo. There’ll be a lot of knowledge and information passed on. That’s very important to me.
This is exciting. For luxury, it’s more than products. It’s the experience and the culture of it. How does that philosophy come alive at the Expo, especially in the dialogue between African and international brands?
The word luxury is often used loosely, and certain historical factors come with saying you’re a luxury brand. African brands attending the Expo will learn from traditional international brands — how they’ve leveraged their name, built a legacy, maintained quality, retained customers, and expanded their brand globally. These are all learning tools, and there’s no school that teaches people about luxury in Nigeria. The best way to learn is from those who are excelling and whom people are choosing to buy from. That’s how you grow and master your craft.
An additional spin to it is that I want brands to come into Nigeria and see our luxury materials. Some of the leather created north is what brands like Hermes or Louis Vuitton use. We also have diamonds, gold and talented artisans. So, the international luxury brands attending this Expo will gain something valuable. They’ll learn about our beading, particularly leather, as well as the history and wealth of knowledge to do bespoke fashion in Nigeria. Bespoke in Europe is considered a luxury — having an outfit tailored to your body and style comes at a high cost. In Nigeria, anyone can visit a tailor for measurements and have bespoke pieces designed. What we see as ordinary here is regarded as luxury in Europe.
This is not one-way traffic. Both industries have a lot to learn. Those coming in want to study the market, the people and how we do things over here.
Read also: Exploring Nigeria’s rich leather tradition: History, craftsmanship, and market potential
It’s a good opportunity for our brands to learn the luxury experience that makes the price point worth it. Looking ahead, do you plan to expand this vision across other African cities, like South Africa, as you’ve mentioned?
Absolutely! It’s a must for me to do that, but we’re starting with Nigeria first. This is our maiden edition; we want to see the response and the appetite for it, as well as what the brands will say at the end of it. It is a research tool to get all that information and knowledge. More than likely, before I even contemplate hosting in another country, I would have to do another edition in Nigeria, possibly in Abuja. After we’ve done that next year, I’ll be open to looking at other markets from there.
As the founder, what would success for this first edition look like to you?
If people turn up, that’s success. Everything else we can fix, but what I need is for people to turn up. I want to see attendees happy, excited and enthusiastic to actually learn. That, in my view, is success. I can build everything else from there.
If you could sum it up in one sentence, what statement does the Expo make to the world about Africa’s luxury renaissance?
Nigeria is here to stay in the luxury market. We are a powerhouse. We are a culture of hardworking, entrepreneurial individuals. If a brand exists anywhere in the world but isn’t in Nigeria, it’s not truly reaching its full potential.
LAJWH Expo: Redefining Nigeria’s luxury narrative
As our conversation drew to a close, it was clear that the passion behind the LAJWH Expo runs deeper than luxury alone. “This has been two years in the making,” Alexander Amosu admitted, reflecting on the challenges of bringing international brands to Lagos. “Convincing them to come wasn’t easy — many had fears about safety, their lives and products.”
That is exactly why this moment matters for Alexander Amosu. He sees the Expo as a chance to rewrite the narrative of Nigeria itself. “After this expo, I want the world to see that we had a successful luxury event here.” Instead, people will leave saying, ‘I stayed in one of the best hotels, I met incredible people, and what I thought Nigeria was is not what I saw with my own eyes.’”
It is a vision rooted in pride and possibility. “Those who attend will become ambassadors for Nigeria,” he said with quiet conviction. “They’ll tell the world that Lagos is not just alive, it is thriving — and it deserves its place at the center of global luxury.”
The LAJWH Expo is an opportunity to be part of Africa’s luxury renaissance and to see Lagos in all its brilliance. As Alexander Amosu and his team prepare to open the doors, one thing is certain: this is a moment you will not want to miss.
Read more: Giorgio Armani, fashion legend and business visionary, dies at 91
